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Adult Woman With Average Strength For Compound Bows

by MJ
(United States)

Hello, in your Recommended

Proper Draw Weight charts you list a draw weight of 16-26 pounds for an adult woman under Beginner Recurve Bows but you do not list a draw weight for adult woman under beginner compound bows. I am not a young woman (I am 42) and I am not a woman with above average strength so where would I fall on your list of recommended draw weights for a beginner compound bow? Thank you for your time.

Comments for Adult Woman With Average Strength For Compound Bows

Compound bows can be very tricky due to the enormous variety of cam design configurations which have a direct impact on how the bow feels during the draw cycle.

The riser and limb type combined with various cam types will also determine the "feeling" of the bow while drawing and shooting.

To the point - if you setup and compared all the possible combinations with equal draw length and equal draw weight each bow would feel differently.

Each would have a different draw cycle timing and produce different feedback:

Draw cycle can be defined like this.....as you move from rest to peak draw weight (the maximum draw weight achieved), through the valley (the point where you move past peak draw weight and begin to feel "let off") and to the "wall" (the end of the draw cycle where you achieve "full draw") where you hold and anchor, the required force to pull the bowstring will constantly change.

The design and timing of the cams determines where and when you arrive at peak draw weight - if the distance from rest to peak draw weight is short it feels harder to draw the bow - if that distance is longer it can feel easier (smoother) to draw from the rest position to peak draw weight even if the draw weights are exactly equal.

Again the type or shape of the cams, the length of the riser, the type of limbs and the distance from cam to cam (overall bow length) as well as the brace height (distance from bow string to the pivot point on the grip) determine how easy or difficult it can feel to draw an equal draw weight.

That said I am going to make a couple of suggestions...

First start looking for a compound bow that can be adjusted down to 40 pounds.

If you find something that will go as low as 30 pounds it would be a better place to start but there are few makes and models for adults that go that low (more about that in a minute).

Look for a longer axle to axle bow with a greater brace height.

The longer bow (30 inches or greater) with a higher brace height (say 7 inches or greater) will produce a smooth draw cycle with less shock and vibration (feedback).

Feedback is important because during the shot a hard shooting bow will fatigue the archer sooner which usually means shorter practice and shooting sessions.

You want something forgiving so you can learn and practice longer.

Back to draw weight - keep the draw weight as low as possible in the beginning.

Your bow may not tune as well but the arrows will fly well enough for the purpose of learning and practice.

This is the time to focus on good shooting form and technique....not on precision shots.

If you shoot often (several short sessions each week) for a few weeks you will condition to the feeling of the bow and soon you can increase draw weight in small increments back up to a higher draw weight where the arrows can be tuned for best performance.

The point I am trying to stress is that many people make the first bow purchase with the mindset that it is the bow they want to shoot forever when in fact the first bow should be purchased as a training bow.....particularly if your goal is to first learn proper shooting form and technique.

I hope you find this informative and useful and thank you for visiting Learn-Archery.com

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